Google Glass in the OR: Doctors Broadcast Surgery Live

A team of doctors led by orthopedic surgeon Selen G. Parekh performed foot surgery yesterday with the help of Google Glass, using the technology to broadcast the operation live on the Internet and share information with other doctors, according to DNA India.

The surgery took place at an Indo-US conference headed by Dr. Ashish Sharma, who praised the use of Google Glass in the operating room. He said Google Glass could be used to communicate with a patient's family, teach students remotely and communicate with other doctors during surgery.

Sharma noted that Google Glass could eliminate the need for cameramen in the operating room, greatly reducing the risk for infection. It could also be used by doctors to treat patients in rural areas, by allowing faraway doctors to examine patients remotely.

Google Glass has been used by surgeons before. Ohio State broadcast an ACL surgery last August. Another Indian doctor performed an upper gastro-intestinal laparoscopy procedure in September while wearing Google Glass.

Google sent out 8,000 Google Glass units to specifically chosen human beta testers as part of its “Explorer Program.” Google Glass’ medical potential has spurred the creation of start-ups and has pushed medical technology firms to look further into other possible Google Glass applications in the medical field.

One San Francisco company sees Google Glass as a way to automatically log medical records, saving doctors from paperwork and giving them more time to do what they do best. Dr. Pierre Theodore of the University of California San Francisco used the technology to view a patient's X-rays during surgery.

Just recently, Google employees with links to the company's X research group met with Food and Drug Administration officials who regulate eye devices and heart diagnostics tech, spurring speculation that Google is working on a new medical product. The Google X lab is a skunkworks of sorts for “future technologies” projects, not unlike similar historic labs at Xerox or Bell Labs. Google X's most prominent project so far is Google Glass. Other projects include self-driving cars and increasing the reach of the Internet to rural locations using stratospheric balloons.